A Silent Heart

Chapter 5

Irene.

The day finished on a good note, so I slept better than usual. I was well-rested as I went about my regular morning at work.

When I got to my lunch spot on the rooftop, the blue-eyed man was already there. His eyes flickered away when he saw me. He tried to put off the cigarette he held between his fingers.

I looked at the cigarette that was now crushed against the hard surface of the roof. He scratched the back of his neck, the tips of his ears a bit pink. It was kind of cute. I would have smiled if it wasn't for my huge dislike for cigarettes.

It wasn't my business whether he smoked or not. It really wasn't. But...I sighed as I sat facing him. 'You smoke?' I wrote.

He looked at the words on the paper. He leaned back on his arms.

"Just a bad habit I couldn't break from my college days," he said. He looked really bothered.

His expression sparked an emotion close to affection in me.

'I read this somewhere: you don't break a bad habit, you replace it with a good one.'

I held up the notebook with a smile. He read it before his eyes looked at me, then his lips twitched up as a soft expression took over his features.

"So I have to find a good habit then," he said, and I nodded.

I put the notebook down to eat because I was starving. My turkey sandwich tasted better than I expected.

"Can you teach me how to sign?" he said as he opened his salad. Crab salad. The smell was heavenly.

'Why?' I wrote on the notebook lying beside me with one hand as I bit into my sandwich, then turned the notebook his way.

He just shrugged. "It's easier for you to sign. Isn't it?"

I slowly nodded. It was true, signing was much easier than having to write. Sometimes, even I gave up communicating some things because it's bothersome to write too much, and the other party would have to wait.

But it was my only means of communication with those around me since none of them knew sign language. Well, with the exception of Jim, whose knowledge of ASL was very limited.

But learning sign language wouldn't be simple for a person as busy as he was. I mean, he arrived to work before everyone else.

'You don't have to learn it if it's just because of me,' I wrote. 'I don't mind writing.'

He read then shook his head. "It's a good thing to learn, anyway".

A frown tugged down my brows. Maybe it was bothersome to have to wait for me to write a reply each time. But no, it didn't feel that way at all. Besides, he could've just not come if he found my company bothersome. No, he actually wanted to learn sign language to communicate easier with me. It was heartwarming.

I finished my sandwich in record time as he took his last forkful of his salad.

"Alright, let's begin," he said, rubbing his hands together with an excited smile that drew a grin on my lips.

'Okay, so you know absolutely nothing about ASL?' I wrote.

"Nope," he said before he held up his hand. "Wait, I know this one." He brought his palm up so his fingers touched his chin before swinging his stretched palm down.

It was the sign of thank you.

'You remember?' I wrote.

"So I got it right?" he asked.